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Kamogawa Genji
Kamogawa Genji (鴨川 源二,'' lit. kamogawa genji'') is a retired boxer who founded the Kamogawa Boxing Gym. He acts as the trainer of both Makunouchi Ippo and Takamura Mamoru, as well as a cornerman for the boxers under Shinoda Tomoyuki. History Not much is known about Kamogawa except for the fact that he worked as a prizefighter in Japan shortly after the end of the Second World War. He has exchanged blows with former boxer Nekota Ginpachi multiple times and fought Ralph Anderson on an official level once. Despite defeating Ralph, Kamogawa broke both his fists in the process, ending his career thereafter. Sometime later Kamogawa opened his own boxing gym, where he trained the future manager of the gym Yagi-chan, the then-OPBF Featherweight champion Miyata-san, and the budding counter specialist Miyata Ichirou. By chance, he encountered Takamura Mamoru and convinced him to enter the world of boxing under his tutorship. Takamura then scouted Aoki Masaru, Kimura Tatsuya, and Makunouchi Ippo to the gym. Kamogawa's full introduction is given when Ippo joins the gym, and it is revealed throughout their partnership that he seeks to raise a world champion whose boxing is principled on fighting spirit, not just talent or skill. He is repeatedly proud of Takamura and Ippo, though he rarely expresses it, but it is Ippo he regards as his "last son". He has thrown in the towel only once, and outside of that loss, his boxers have won every last one of their combined 48 matches. Though he chose not to train Itagaki Manabu, he is present in his matches as a cornerman. He is equally as surprised at Itagaki's speed and boxing skills as he is at the talents of his own trainees. Match History Kamogawa officially fought against Ralph Anderson. Though winning by KO, he broke both of his fists to the point of ending his career thereafter by overusing the Tekken, or Iron Fist technique. It is also mentioned that Kamogawa had multiple boxing matches against Nekota Ginpachi as a prizefighter, two of which he lost, two of which he won, and another that ended a draw, though he insists that he won the last one. Appearance An old and retired boxer, Kamogawa now lacks the build required to make him look like a boxer at all. He is short (due to old age), with countless wrinkles most prominent under his eyes and on his upper lip as well as age spots. Kamogawa's hair has turned gray from old age, and it appears from his lack of hair overall that he is balding as well (though hair is still apparent behind his head). He has thick eyebrows and a small curly tuft of hair growing on his temple, large eyes, and black pupils. Before Retirement It is shown in numerous flashbacks that Kamogawa had once fought as a prizefighter in Japan. His body was depicted as flexible yet noticeably muscular, with hardened facial features and a full head of dark colored hair. When placed next to other core characters of the story, Kamogawa's younger appearance can be comparatively plain with very little special features to be spoken of. Personality Kamogawa is the head coach of the Kamogawa Boxing Gym and is close friends with Nekota Ginpachi and Hama Dankichi. As a coach he is strict and holds high expectations for his trainees but is also shown to genuinely care for the well-being of his fighters (albeit in a more silenced, aloof way), forging a strong bond with each and every one of them through trust and spirit. He possesses an extremely sharp sense for boxing and a large wealth of knowledge in regards to boxing, able to give strategies to his fighters that often cause turnabouts in matches. He is shown throughout the series to be most proud of his two most prominent boxers: Takamura Mamoru and Makunouchi Ippo. While his body may have aged, it is shown that he is still capable of performing a series of boxing techniques as seen in his mini-fight with Nekota, indicating a strong muscle memory of boxing. Fighting Style Not much is known about Kamogawa's prior fighting style other than his weight class and his natural in-fighting tendencies. It is suggested by Nekota that he used both an orthodox and southpaw style, as he said to Genji: "Your right cross hasn't faded at all." Furthermore, he told Ippo: "If I didn't look into his eyes, I would've taken his left cross." Thus it is safe to say that he used the southpaw at an irregular basis, although nothing is known about the frequency. He invented Tekken, a destructive left body blow which leaves an imprint of a fist behind. He possesses a stubborn and unyielding fighting spirit, which he seeks to pass down to a successor in the hopes of challenging the world. Techniques *Tekken *Counter Gallery Placeholder Category:Male characters Category:Characters from Japan Category:Kamogawa Boxing Gym Category:Bantamweights Category:In Fighters Category:Post-War Prize Fighters Category:Retired boxers Category:Trainers Category:Boxers Category:Unorthodox Boxers Category:Southpaws